Contextualise yourself

The current reality of the ad industry is that of Charles Darwin's quote - 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.'

This change must be pioneered by relevance. The past truth that Content is King has evolved into a truth that Context is King.

"This evolution from "Content is King" is nothing but consequent. The highest quality content is totally worthless if provided in the wrong situation (=context)." - Phillip Rosenthal

"We won best ad of the month" ... that's fantastic! [But] Who actually saw that ad? Who, from your target market, actually saw that ad? Who, from your target market, actually saw that ad and can recall it, or more importantly did it push them to make a purchase? Brand Loyalty is not as strong as it used to be.

The school of thought on Contextualism is not new, but it is more relevant now than ever. Context is a marketer's strongest weapon.

"Context matters because it informs our expectations, which in turn form our preferences" - Jodi Beggs

The right weapons

With the ever-growing scale of niche markets and demographics, we need to sharpen our weapons for the right hunt, we can't use a 50cal to hunt humming birds.

DIMA has always told our clients that in order to be relevant to a specific target market you cannot just launch an air raid and hope that you hit your target. In this day of Millennials, Y Generation and ADHD (Why Big Retail Is Running Scared Of The Millennial Generation), the consumer does not sit and watch, sit and read, sit and get fed marketing. They choose what they want to allow into their world and when they want it.

What's needed

In this era of marketing we have to give consumers marketing that is relevant and meaningful and marketing that speaks to their wants and needs. With the introduction of digital there have been far bigger repercussions for brands not being able to reach the consumer! Blockbusters, Kodak and everyday magazines are evidence of this.

So ideas become the new commodity. Single-minded propositions that get fleshed out via contextual execution will be the sweet spot for brands that are looking for impact in an industry that is already shell shocked.

To market to the consumer in this day and age I believe we have to have three things:  Relationship Simplicity Relevance

About Dylan Laubscher

Dylan Laubscher, Founder and Managing Director, DIMA, has worked in through-the-line advertising as well as strategy based in-store and digital marketing with Unilever, P&G, GSK, Coca Cola, Spar group, Mondelez, BDF, Distell and Tiger brands at companies like TBWA; FCB and Barrows. Dylan Leads the DIMA team to create unique contextual design 'ideations' and solutions.

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